NEW YORK – Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and outside linebacker Khalil Mack have been targeted as the most likely candidates to be selected first overall by the Texans Thursday night when the NFL begins the three-day draft at Radio City Music Hall.

If general manager Rick Smith doesn’t find a team willing to meet his price to trade to the No. 1 spot, the Texans will make the first overall pick for the third time in team history.

Clowney, Mack and quarterback Blake Bortles said they would be honored to be drafted by the Texans.

Clowney believes he’s destined for Houston.

“I think it’ll be (me),” Clowney said after a charity event at Chelsea Waterside Park. “I don’t think they’re going to pass. I’ve always said I want to be the No. 1 pick. It’s always been a pride thing.”

During a 30-minute session with the media for the 30 prospects brought to the draft by the NFL, Clowney drew the second-largest crowd of reporters behind quarterback Johnny Manziel.

Clowney hesitated a moment when he was asked what the moment would feel like if the Texans select him.

“Man, I’ll be real happy,” he said. “It’ll be hard to describe, really. You can’t really explain what a moment like that would be like.

“It would mean a lot to me to go No. 1, but it’s out of my control. That’s one of the goals I set coming out of high school and college.

“If I have to go No. 2, I’m going to be upset.”

Besides accomplishing his goal of being the first pick and getting the most lucrative contract in the draft that’ll include around $22 million guaranteed, Clowney would like an opportunity to play with defensive end J.J. Watt.

Imagine passing situations in which offensive linemen had to block Watt and Clowney. It would be impossible to double-team both of them.

“That would be great,” Clowney said about playing with Watt. “I watched him play when I was in college (South Carolina). I look up to him. He’s been like a role model to me.”

Clowney is ideally suited to play right end in a 4-3, but new defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel didn’t earn five Super Bowl rings without being creative with his players.

Clowney would have to line up as an outside linebacker on run downs and then rush the quarterback in passing situations.

“Can I play there?” Clowney said. “You know I can play there. I’m excited about the possibility.

“And I like the idea of playing for their coaches. I really enjoyed meeting them.”

Clowney has heard the reports about the Texans listening to offers to trade the top pick to a team that wants him. When asked about it, he shrugged his massive shoulders.

“Yeah, I hear about all that trade talk, but I don’t have any control over the situation,” he said. “This isn’t like college, where I can pick where I want to go.

“Right now, I’m just ready for all this to be over. I’ve been tired of it. I was ready for it to be over two or three weeks ago.

“I want to get with my team, adapt to my new system and learn the playbook. I don’t want to get behind waiting to get drafted while everybody else is already working (offseason program).”

The extra two weeks before this year’s draft hasn’t ruined the experience for Clowney.

“Hey, this has been a lot of fun,” he said. “I’m just enjoying life. A lot of guys don’t get an opportunity like this. This is so big for me and my family. You don’t get this moment back.

“It’s been crazy, everybody asking where I’m going to be drafted, what my strengths and weaknesses are. It’s just something you accept, deal with and move on.”

Clowney has heard so much criticism of his junior season in which he recorded only three sacks he hardly responds any more.

“That comes from people that don’t know me, people that haven’t been around me,” he said. “The team that drafts me will get to know me and will see what I’m all about. They’ll see what happens when I get there.”

The Texans want to improve their pass rush. They have Brooks Reed and Whitney Mercilus as their starting outside linebackers, but some are predicting Mack will be selected first overall by the Texans.

“That would be a blessing, but you can’t control any of it,” Mack said. “It would be a great opportunity for me, but you have to try to relax at a time like this and wait to see what happens.

“I had a great time on my visit to Houston. I learned an awful lot from the coaches during my visit with them. Romeo Crennel? He’s one of the best ever, man. It would be great to work under him and to learn from him.”

Mack believes he could improve a Texans pass rush that produced only 31 sacks last season, down from 41 in each of the previous two seasons.

“I’m a football player,” he said. “I can play standing up, with my hand on the ground, coming off the edge – I can make plays no matter where I am.

“I’m very confident player, but no matter where I’m drafted, I still have to prove myself.”